San Antonio Catholic leaders have discontinued a long-standing Mass that was offered quietly for more than 15 years to the gay and lesbian community at a near-downtown parish.

By Abe Levy :
October 22, 2010

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San Antonio Catholic leaders have discontinued a long-standing Mass that was offered quietly for more than 15 years to the gay and lesbian community at a near-downtown parish.

The weekly Mass at St. Ann Catholic Church was the subject of periodic complaints to the archdiocese. But until last Sunday, the local hierarchy declined to shut it down. It had been conducted by a handful of local priests sympathetic to the gay and lesbian community.

The decision was made by Auxiliary Bishop Oscar Cantú, who's the interim head of the archdiocese until Chicago Bishop Gustavo García-Siller becomes the new archbishop of San Antonio on Nov. 23.

In an Oct. 13 letter to the St. Ann pastor, Father John Restrepo, Cantú said the Mass conflicted with Catholic teaching because it was offered for the gay Catholic advocacy group, Dignity San Antonio.

Part of the national organization, DignityUSA, it seeks the acceptance of alternative lifestyles in the Catholic Church.

"The Mass ... continues to send conflicting messages about the church's official teaching concerning the proper celebration of the Eucharist and living an active homosexual lifestyle," Cantú wrote, giving a termination date of Monday.

He also condemned any prejudice or hate against gay people and urged worshippers to attend Masses as part of the broader Catholic community.

Cantú was out of the country Friday and unavailable for comment, an archdiocesan spokesman said. Restrepo did not return phone calls for comment Friday.

Last Sunday was the final Mass for Dignity, which previously laid claim as the only chapter in the nation to offer a Mass on Catholic grounds. The same Masses in other cities were rejected by bishops, causing the chapters to meet at non-Catholic churches and settings or disband altogether.

The news sent shock waves through the tight-knit community, whose 35 active members have attended a Dignity Mass for at least 24 years at local parishes.

Gatherings included many same-sex couples with children at the Mass, which was viewed as a critical link to their Catholic identity.

"Our faith teaches us that the church is a community of people, not a building," local Dignity President Fred Anthony Garza said. "So we will continue to meet in a more welcoming environment. There are many people who believe that the Catholic Church needs to do a better job of providing care for lesbian and gay people and our families."

The Mass has been a delicate issue challenging archdiocesan leaders for at least a couple of decades.

Advocates for conservative reforms prodded previous San Antonio Archbishops José Gomez and Patrick Flores to crack down on the Mass, believing doing nothing was a sign of giving into secular culture.

Advocates for the Mass concede that alternative lifestyles conflict with Catholic teachings, but they argue this Mass was an act of compassion for a Catholic community wanting to worship free of prejudice.

"We need to provide good preaching and good teaching to this community," said Father Eddie Bernal, one of several local priests to conduct the Mass. "I have met some of the most wonderful people in my life in Dignity. They've changed my life for the better. And I've learned so much."

National and local Catholic officials have promoted Courage as a sanctioned program to help gay and lesbian Catholics remain celibate.

Catholic doctrine promotes compassion for gay people but considers any sexual activity outside of traditional marriage to be a sin and describes homosexuality as "intrinsically disordered."

While the decision came this month, it was precipitated by complaints from Defenders of the Magisterium, a network of doctrinally conservative Catholics.

Defenders often work undercover, recording speeches by nuns and priests, for example, to later expose what the group believes to be false teachings and practices by sending them to Catholic leaders for possible punishment.

A defender secretly recorded the Dignity Mass and transcribed it into documents sent to the chancery, the papal representative to the U.S. and the Vatican, said Edmundo Vargas, the group's director. The recording also included references in the Mass to God as "Mother," which violates liturgical rules, he said.

The foundation is a nonprofit agency that helps Catholics defend themselves in the church's legal system.

Archdiocesan spokesman Pat Rodgers said he was unaware of any involvement of the defenders or foundation and said the decision appeared to be the result of lengthy, multiyear review of the Mass.

"They themselves are self-identifying as a homosexual lifestyle advocacy group, and the church would generally not be supportive of that kind of advocacy," Rodgers said.

For Dignity's part, it plans to resume a lay-led liturgy at 5:15 p.m., Sunday, at nearby Beacon Hill Presbyterian Church at 1101 West Woodlawn Ave. And it will pursue an appeal with García-Siller, the incoming archbishop.

"The decision was highly personal and unexpected," Garza said. "It meant hurt. It means rejection. It means one more thing is compromised in our lives."